Baby Moo Cows!

Apparently one bull got a little feisty and jumped the fence into the cow pasture a few weeks before planned.  Normally the ranch plans calving season to start early February.  Two had already been born by the time all had returned to the ranch on January 11th, but they did not survive because the mamas were still way out in the fields and calves were not yet on anyone's radar.  If they are slightly premie and do not know how to suck on their own then they will die in a matter of a couple days. 

The calf that did not make it.  Sad, yet intriguing.  Took over two weeks for coyotes and scavengers to do anything with it.

So, all the impending mamas who were big enough to possibly birth in the next three weeks were brought into the calving pasture.  One day later I awoke to see one cow off on her own.  I found her smart for finding her own patch of grass while the others fought over the same swatches in the middle.  But then the patch moved -- and lifted its head -- IT'S A BABY! 

Mama nuzzled it.  It got on its forelegs, then toppled over.

SO CUTE.  EXPLODING IN CUTENESS. 

I sprinted to my phone to text the ranch owners.  Sprinted back to the window.  Mama nuzzled and licked some more.  Baby tried its hind legs, bobbled and fell over again.  Not long thereafter D appeared, walked over to assess Mama.  Most are devoted to their offspring, but every so often a mama is defensive to the point of charging or kicking at humans.  This one kept leaning its head forward but was otherwise completely benign.  D walked away to grab a sled.  When he returned Baby jumped up onto all fours with legs sprawled out in a big X. 

BABY STANDING!  SOOOOO CUTE!!!  I was just a wee bit excited....

D placed the sled next to Baby and waited for the right moment in its swaying to tip it onto the sled.  They he drug it into the corral with Mama right at its tail. 

One hour later we saw another mama pulled away from the rest.  Her head jerked back and forth; picked up her hooves repeatedly; basically looked very uncomfortable.  She had turned to face away from our window when her back flexed, tail lifted, and out poured buckets of fluid.  Nathan commented on the volume of pee.  I told him I was positive that was not pee.  He's got a little learnin' to do.

The next day we saw two little calves and their mamas in the inner corral.  A week later now, and Baby is now bounding and skipping alongside Mama.  

Baby!  One week old.

Last night I went to empty some compost by the west fence line.  Just as I got there I became recipient to the loudest, meanest, angriest moo I've ever heard.  I looked over in the moonlight and Mama (a new Mama) was facing directly toward me, eying my every move from 40 feet away and across a fence.  She mooed/yelled again as I walked back toward the house.  I wondered out loud if she had a baby and was being defensive.  Nathan went out moments later to empty out the ash bucket.  He took a headlamp and investigated.  Surely enough, another calf.  We again informed the crew.

Turns out this Mama was very sweet and allowing.  Nathan and I watched in full enamor while T and V worked with flashlights to assess and then get Baby and Mama inside the corrals.  I ran into T this afternoon, who said this calf had been a bit of a premie and needed help to learn how to eat.  Had we not caught it and let them know then Baby probably would not have made it overnight. 

I've counted about a half dozen total calves so far.  Apparently come February there will be something along the lines of 20 births per day.  Every time I am by a window and/or every five minutes I find myself searching for new calves.  We don't have a TV.  This is ridiculously entertaining.